Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA) on Monday, condemned the killing of a female lawyer, Bolanle Raheem, who was shot dead on Christmas Day by a trigger-happy policeman in the Ajah area of Lagos State.

HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement warned the police not to cover up the identity of the culprit, an Assistant Superintendent of Police but reveal his name and photo to the public. The group also demanded the immediate prosecution of the principal “murderer”.

According to reports, Raheem was shot dead in a car when she and her family members drove back home from a Christmas Day church service and tried to make a U-turn under the Ajah Bridge.

The spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin already confirmed the incident, saying justice will prevail.

HURIWA’s Onwubiko said: “It is very unfortunate that trigger-happy policemen continue to send young innocent Nigerians to early graves and the authorities continue to look the other way.

“The killing of Raheem is particularly painful because officers from the same Ajiwe police station in Ajah on December 6, 2022 also shot dead Gafaru Buraimoh, a resident of Happy Land estate in Ajah.

“HURIWA condemns these heinous assassinations and demand the immediate prosecution of the murderers involved. It is still unthinkable how that a family was served the killing of their daughter as a Christmas Day and Boxing Day gift. This is the height of callousness and inhumanity of police officers despite the October 2020 nationwide protests against police brutality and extrajudicial killings.

“A report released in 2021 by a human rights group, the Centre for Democracy and Development said over 13,000 Nigerians were extra-judicially killed by security agents in the last 10 years.

“Extrajudicial killings by security agents have reached alarming decibel and must be stopped forthwith! The Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba; and President Muhammadu Buhari should stop these carnivorous consumption of young, innocent Nigerians by trigger-happy and dark-hearted security agents. “

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